Automatic stacker pocket unloading device



Feb. 11, 1969 B. STEGEMAN 3,426,923.

AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Sheet of 1.1

3, 54mm My mm x 5mm Feb. 11, 1969 s. STEGEMAN 3,426,923

AUTOMATIC STACRER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Sheet. 2 of 11 .BY W

Feb. 11, 1969 B. STEGEMAN 3,

AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE I Filed Nov. 6, 1967 v 7 Sheet 3 of 11 MM: fimmmw it? 5v Mam X/ZUl/bx 5401/01/- Feb. 11, 1969 B. STEGEMAN AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET U NLOADING DEVICE 4 ofll,

Sheet Fil ed Nov. 6, 1967 flom'a/zdaa .BY ddwim MW 0211M: 5M0

Feb. 11, 1%9 s. STEGEMAN AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Sheet Filed Nov 6, 1967 Feb. 11, 1969 B. STEGE MAN' AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING QEVICE Sheet Filed NOV. 6, 1967 Sheet B. STEGEMAN AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE JMJ/Ze I/ .BY m W911 mew Feb. 11, 1969 Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Feb. 11, 1969v s. STEGEMAN 3,426,923

AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Filed NOV. 6, 1967 Sheet of 11 Feb. 11,' 1969 B. STEGEMAN 3,426,923

AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Filed Nov. 6, 1967 Sheet 9 of 11 7 Sheet 0 of 11 Feb.v 11, 1969 Filed Nov. 6, 1967 I I I I I I I I I .BY IO Feb. 11, 1969 a. STEGEMAN AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Sheet Filed Nov. 6, 1967 United States Patent AUTOMATIC STACKER POCKET UNLOADING DEVICE Bernardus Stegeman, Amsterdam, Netherlands, assignor to Bull General Electric (Nederland) N.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands Filed Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 689,931 Claims priority, application France, Nov. 18, 1966,

US. Cl. 2l4---6 9 Claims Int. Cl. B65g 57/00; B65h 31/34 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE The invention concerns a device which permits the unloading of a card reception compartment in a machine for dealing with record cards, without it being necessary to stop the machine. The device controls simultaneously the descent of the card-supporting tray and the bringing into action of a device for retaining cards which is arranged at the upper portion of the compartment so as to retain the cards which arrive in the compartment between the instant when the tray is lowered and the instant when the tray, discharged by the operator, has returned upwards to its highest position.

The present invention relates to improvements in card stacker pockets in machines dealing with record cards.

In machines dealing with record cards, such as sorters, collators, tabulators etc., after the cards have been treated in the machine they are advanced by means of driving devices constituted by rotary driving rollers, along a card track below which reception compartments are arranged. Above each compartment, a deflector can be actuated to deflect some of the cards which are advanced along the track, and to make them fall into the said compartment. The cards which fall into a compartment generally accumulate on a mobile tray fast with a rod held by a spring. Under the effect of the weight of the pile constituted by the cards which fall into the compartment, this tray is gradually lowered, balanced by its spring, until a position is reached corresponding to a limited capacity, which can be selected to be about 50 0 to 600 cards The capacity of the reception compartments being limited, devices for indicating when a compartment is full are provided, some of these devices being even arranged so that when a compartment is full they control the stopping of the supply of cards by the machine.

In machines for dealing with record cards of this type, the controls are normally arranged near the card supply magazine or magazines, that is to say at the end of the machine opposite from that where the reception compartments furthest from the supply magazine are situated. Consequently, if it is desired to withdraw manually, whilst the machine is operating, the cards accumulated in a reception compartment before the maximum capacity of this compartment is reached, the operator has to use the controls of the machine to stop the machine, then go and withdraw the cards and then return to the controls to re-start the machine. Naturally, it is necessary to stop the machine before withdrawing cards, since the unloading of a compartment during continuous supply, in other words without the machine stopping, can cause a blockage of the inlet of the compartment by an arriving card. There is also a risk that this card may turn over and fall upside-down, or even fall into an incorrect position and remain on its edge instead of resting flat on the accumulated cards. However, going and coming between the controls of the machine and the reception compartments not only causes physical fatigue to the 3,426,923 Patented Feb. 11, 1969 operator but also results in a considerable loss of working time as far as the machine is concerned.

To overcome these disadvantages, it has been proposed to provide the machine with an apparatus constructed and arranged in such a manner that the operation of the machine is automatically interrupted by the hand of the operator advancing to take hold of the cards on the tray, and automatically resumed the instant when the said hand is withdrawn. However, this kind of arrangement, if it limits the times when the machine is stopped to a strictly minimum amount, nevertheless requires the stopping of the machine when the cards are withdrawn and thus does not eliminate the loss of time which results therefrom. -In these machines also, when it is desired to withdraw the cards from a full compartment or even an incompletely full compartment, it is often necessary to move the tray downwards by a sufiicient amount to be able to free the pile of cards which not only requires an additional etfort from the operator, but also increases the time when the machine is immobilised.

An object of the present invention is to obviate these disadvantages, and to provide a machine for dealing with record cards wherein the cards can be withdrawn from the reception compartments without it being necessary to stop the machine.

According to the invention, in a machine for dealing with record cards which comprises a plurality of card containers, these containers each comprising a card-supporting tray normally suspended by a balancing spring, which is designed to keep the top of the pile of cards received at a substantially constant level, there is provided for each container an arrangement of mechanical means permitting the unloading of the cards of a container without stopping the operation of the machine, the said arrangement comprising a balancing spring for the card-supporting tray suspended on a suspension lever normally locked in a first position, a card retaining device normally inoperative at the upper portion of a wall of the container, and a manual actuation device which is situated below the container and is adapted to bring about, when it is actuated, through intermediate means and concomitantly the unlocking of the suspension lever so that the card-supporting tray can move downwards to a lower end unloading position, and the bringing into action of the card retaining device for intercepting the cards which are situated or arrive above.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1A shows a diagrammatic view in perspective of the upper portion of a reception compartment, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 1B shows a diagrammatic perspective view of the lower portion of the reception compartment which is partly illustrated in FIGURE 1A.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the upper portion of the compartment shown in FIGURE 1A,

FIGURE 3 shows a perspective view of the control mechanism whereby the reception compartment shown in FIGURES 1A and 1B can be unloaded during operation of the machine,

FIGURE 4 shows a perspective view of the mechanism of FIGURE 3 with parts broken away so as to show some constructional details,

FIGURE 5 shows a rear view of the mechanism of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 6 shows a front view of the mechanism of FIGURE 3, the said mechanism being in the rest position,

FIGURES 7 and 10 views showing different positions occupied by the card retaining device of the reception 3 compartment shown in FIGURES 1A and 1B, during operation,

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 3 illustrating the position of the various parts of the mechanism after its actuation by the operator,

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic view and intended to show the main features of a reception compartment constructed according to the invention, the said compartment being shown in a first working state, and

FIGURE 13 is a view of the compartment illustrated in FIGURE 12, shown in a second working state.

In FIGURES 1A and 1B, jointed together along the dot-dash line, there has been illustrated a portion of a machine for dealing with record cards, showing a reception compartment arranged in accordance with a preferred form of embodiment of the invention so that it can be unloaded without it being necessary to stop the machine. In the figures thus jointed together only one reception compartment has been illustrated fully, but it will be understood that the machine generally comprises several i such compartments and that the number of compartments may vary in accordance with the type of machine in question. FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic side view taken in the direction of the arrow designated as 2 in FIGURE 1A of the upper portion of this compartment.

In a known manner, the cards coming from a supply magazine (not shown) are advanced along a card track by means of sets of driving rollers such as the set of rolllers 22, 23, 24 and 25 which are shown in FIGURE 1A. Cards are made to fall into the reception compartments by flaps arranged so as to deflect the cards advanced by the driving rollers. One of these flaps, bearing the reference numeral 26, is shown in FIGURES 7 to 10. In FIGURES 1A and 2, the flaps have been deliberately omitted in order to show some constructional details more clearly. The cards which, deflected by the flap 26, fall into the reception compartment, accumulate on a tray 27. This tray is fast with a rod 28 which can slide vertically. A balancing spring 29 fixed at one of its ends to the collar 30 fast with the rod 28, permits the tray to move gradually downwards towards the bottom of the compartment under the action of the weight of the cards in proportion as these fall into the compartment and accumulate on the tray. The spring 29 is constructed so as to balance the weight of the assembly constituted by the tray, the rod and the accumulated cards so that the upper level of the stack of cards remains substantially constant whatever the number of cards accumulated. If the compartment is not unloaded sufiiciently soon, the downward movement of the tray 27 under the action of the weight of the stack of cards is stopped by the collar 30 which, when the tray 27 has reached a predetermined maximum depth, comes into contact with a ring 31 held by a spring 32. If from this instant onwards cards continue to arrive in the compartment, the upper level of the stack is raised until the last cards accumulated push a lever 33 known as the full-compartment lever, which is mounted to be pivotable about a pin 34. A control arm 37 fixed on the pin 34 is then driven to actuate an electrical contact 35. In the present case this electrical contact is used to control the stopping of the machine when the compartment is full, but it would be possible to adapt it to control the sending into another compartment of the cards which were intended for the full compartment.

FIGURES 1A and 7 to 10 also show that the tray 27 is inclined relatively to the horizontal in order to permit the cards which fall into the compartment to accumulate in an oblique stack and to align themselves on two vertical guide bars 58 and 59 shown in FIGURES 1A and 2. During the downward movement of the tray, the accumulated cards slide along the guide bars, remaining in bearing contact against them owing to their inclination and the vibrations of the machine. In order to facilitate the withdrawal of a stack of cards from the tray 27 the latter is provided, as FIGURES 1A and 2 show, with an opening 21.

To permit the operator to unload the compartment without it being necessary to stop the machine, devices have been provided which will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For this purpose, each reception compartment comprises a card interception device which is arranged at the upper portion of the compartment to retain the cards which fall into the compartment when the operator is in the process of unloading it. In the example described, this interception device comprises, as FIGURES 1A and 2 show, a plate 50 provided with two vertical arms 51 and 52 whose lower ends are bent to form two retaining noses 55 and 56. The plate 50 is fixed and is arranged so that the retaining noses are both situated at the same height and at a slightly higher level than the rear edge of the tray 27 when the latter is in its highest position (FIGURES 1A and 10). A slideway 57 fixed on the plate 50 between the arms 51 and 52 serves as a guide for a deflector plate 38 which can slide vertically between an upper position and a lower position. The deflector plate is extended downwardly by the deflector rod 39. The plate 50, the arms 51 and 52, the deflector plate 38 and the deflector rods 39 are situated substantially in the plane which passes through the guide bars 58 and 59, but outside the path followed by the cards which move downwards in the compartment, whilst the retaining noses 55 and 56 project, slightly relatively to this plane towards the interior of the compartment as FIGURE 10 shows. In this way the cards accumulated on the tray which move downwards sliding along the guide bars are retained when passing at the level of the retaining noses. However, in order to avoid the cards from being retained by the said noses during the normal filling of the compartment, the deflector plate 38 is provided with a boss 61 whose profile has been designed so that, when the deflector plate is in the upper position, the boss 61 is level with the retaining noses 55 and 56, as FIGURE 7 shows, and permits the cards which move downwards to slide along the boss and move away sufliciently to pass alongside the noses without being retained by them. When the deflector plate is in the lower position, the boss 61 is situated below the level of the retaining noses, so that the noses then retain the cards which are situated above them when the said cards pass downwards. FIGURES 1A and 2 show that the deflector plate 38 is held against the slideway 57 by means of a rivet 67 which passes through a vertical slot formed in the deflector plate and which is fixed on the slideway 57. This rivet also acts as a stop to limit the travel of the plate 38 and the rod 39 when these are in the lower position. In the upper position, the deflector plate 38 comes to abut against the plate 50.

FIGURES 1B, 3 and 5 show that the rod 39 which supports the deflector plate 38 is guided at its lower portion by slots in two lugs '40 and 41 which enable it to slide vertically and which are fast with a supporting plate 42 fixed to the frame of the machine below the reception compartment. The rod 39 is normally urged upwards by a draw spring 43 tensioned between a stud of the control rod 39 and the lug 40.

In FIGURE 1B there has been shown an unloading lever 44 provided with a key 45, which permits the operator to trigger simultaneously the descent of the tray and the bringing of the retaining device into the interception position. As can be seen in FIGURES 3 and 5, this unloading lever is mounted to be pivotable about a horizontal pin 46 fixed on the supporting plate 42. In the rest position, this lever comes into contact with an abutment stud 53 under the action of a spring 54. The unloading lever 44 is fast with a cam plate 47 by means of a sleeve 60 which can pivot about the pin 46. The deflector rod 39 is provided with a roller 48 which is in contact with the cam of the plate 47. The profile of the cam 47 is such that when the operator presses on the key 45 the cam 47,

driven by the unloading lever 44, pushes the roller 48 and causes the deflector rod 39 to descend to the lower position. 3

FIGURE 4 shows that a latch 70 is provided which is fast with a lever 71, which is mounted to be pivotable about a pin 72 fixed on the supporting plate 42. The lever 71 is provided with a stud 73 which, as FIGURES 3 and 5 show, is applied against the left-hand portion of the cam plate 47 under the action of a draw spring 74 which can be seen in FIGURES 4 and 5. FIGURES 1B and 6 show that the supporting plate 42 supports a suspension lever which comprises two substantially perpendicular arms 76 and 77 and is mounted to be pivotable about a pin 78 fixed on the front face of the supporting plate 42. FIGURES 1B and 4 show that the end of the arm 76 of this lever is provided with a bent lug 79 to which there is fixed by one of its ends the balancing spring 29, the other end of which is fixed to the collar 30 fast with the rod 28. A return spring 80 attached to a fixed point on the machine at one of its ends, is fixed at its other end to the arm 77 of the suspension lever. This spring, which is a long one, has the function of supplying the necessary :force for the return of the tray 27 upwards into the upper position when the latter, after having been lowered owing to the actuation of the unloading lever 44 by the operator, is relieved of the cards which had accumulated on it. For this purpose the preload of the return spring 80 is so arranged as to balance by means of the suspension lever 75 the weight of the assembly constituted by the rod 28 and the tray 27 charged with a number of cards in the vicinity of a hundred. In this way, if the tray 27 is empty, the preload of the return spring 80 is sufficient to urge the arm 76 upwards and return the empty tray and the rod into the upper position whereas, if the number of cards accumulated on the tray 27 is of the order of several hundreds, the preload of the return spring 80 is insufficient to hold the arm 76 upwards, so that the suspension lever 75 rocks downwards, as FIGURE 11 shows, and the tray 27 descends to the bottom of the reception compartment.

At the normal filling of the compartment, the suspension lever 75 is held in the locked position owing to the fact that the end of the arm 76 is normally retained by its nose 68 bearing on the latch 70, as FIGURES 4 and 6 show, so that the lug 79 on which the balancing spring 29 is suspended remains fixed. Under these conditions, the spring 29 is subjected to preload to balance the weight of the assembly constituted by the rod 28, the tray 27 and the accumulated cards so that the upper level of the stack of cards remains substantially constant.

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 show that the supporting plate 42 supports at its rear face a locking lever 81 comprising two substantially perpendicular arms 82 and 83, which is mounted to be pivotable about a pin 84 fixed on the supporting plate. The spring 74, one of whose ends is fixed to the lever 71 is fixed at its other end to the arm 82 so as to urge the end of the said arm to apply it against the deflector rod 39. For reasons of clarity in the drawings, the deflector rod 39 has not been shown in FIGURE 4. The end of the arm 82 is profiled in such a manner as to constitute a latch which, when the deflector rod is brought into the lower position, engages in a notch 85 formed in the said rod, under the'action of the spring 74, and thus effects the locking of this rod, holding it in the lower position when it is being urged upwards by the spring 43. FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show that the end of the arm 83 of the lever 81 is provided with a stud 86 which is applied against the upper edge of the arm 76 when the latter is retained by the latch 70', to hold the latch of the arm 82 out of the notch 85 and thus to permit the upward return movement of the deflector rod 39.

As FIGURES 1B, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11 show, the arm 77 of the suspension lever 75 is coupled to a pneumatic darn ing device 87 which is intended to brake the ascending movement of the tray 27 when the latter, after having been relieved of the cards which it carried, moves upwards again under the action of the return spring by means of the suspension lever 75. As FIGURE 5 shows, this damping device is of known type and is constituted by a cylinder 88 fast with a fixing element 97 pivotably connected to the suppolting plate 42. Slidable within the cylinder 88 is a piston 89 provided with a valve 96 and fast with a rod 98 articulated to the arm 77. The value 96 is arranged in such a manner that the damping device presents substantially no resistance when the arm 76 is drawn downwards whereas, when this arm moves upwards again under the action of the return spring 80, the damping device oflers a resistance which brakes the re-ascent of the said arm.

FIGURES 4 and 5 also show a blocking catch 90 the function of which will be defined shortly, which is arranged vertically and is mounted to be pivotable about a pin 91 fixed on the rear face of the supporting plate 42. As FIGURE 4 shows, this blocking catch is provided with an abutment dog 92 and is extended at its upper portion by an arm 93 bent to be perpendicular to the plane of the supporting plate to pass through an aperture 69 formed in the said plate. In the unblocking position the arm 93 is urged towards one of the edges of this aperture under the action of a spring 94 which is fixed on the one hand to the blocking catch 90 and on the other hand to the supporting plate 42. FIGURES 1B, 4 and 6 show that the rod 28 is provided with an arm 62 at the end of which there is fixed a runner 63 provided with an inclined entry surface. The arm 62 is positioned on the rod 28 in such a manner that, when the tray 27 is in the upper position, the runner 63 is in contact with a ramp 95 fast with the arm 93 and moves the arm 93 away to put it into its blocking position. When the arm 93 is thus put into place, the abutment dog 92 of the blocking catch 90 is situated just below a bent lug 49 fast with the unloading lever 44, as FIGURES 3 and 5 show, and prevents the operation of the said lever by the operator. When, on the contrary, the tray 27 has moved downwards sufficiently for the runner 63 to cease holding the arm 93 in its blocking position, the arm 93 returns into the unblocking position under the action of the spring 94 and, the abutment dog 92 of the blocking catch 90 being displaced sufiiciently for the lug 49 to be unable any longer to abut against the dog 92, the unloading lever 44 can then be operated by the operator. The blocking device of the lever 44 which has just been described is arranged in such a manner that the runner 63 which descends in proportion as the cards accumulate on the tray, allows the arm 93 to return to its unblocking position only when the tray 27, which moves downwards in proportion as the cards accumulate, carries a load greater than a minimum of about 200 cards. The blocking device for the lever 44 can also be coupled to an indicating device such as a light signal device, which indicates to the operator the instant from which the key 45 can be depressed to cause the downward movement of the tray. If the load on the tray is suflicient to permit the operation of the unloading lever 44, the operator can, by pressing on the key 45, lower the said lever so that the cam 47 which is drawn by this lever repels the roller 48 downwards and causes the deflector rod 39 to move into the lower position. Consequently, as explained hereinbefore, the deflector plate 38 which is fast with the rod 39' descends also and its boss '61 frees the retaining noses 55 and 56, as FIGURE 8 shows. Simultaneously but slightly later the cam 47 acting as a push member pushes the stud 73 which causes the lever 71 to pivot about the pin 72. The latch 70 is drawn by the displacement of the lever 71 and then releases the end of the arm 76 of the suspension lever. Since the load on the tray 27 is then greater than 200 cards, the preload of the return spring 80 is insutficient to retain, by means of the suspension lever 75, the assembly constituted by the balancing spring 29, the rod 28, the

tray 27, and the accumulated cards. This assembly, which is no longer retained owing to the release of the arm 76 by the latch 70 then falls and is finally arrested by the collar which comes into contact with the ring 31. The shock is damped by the spring 32. FIGURE 9 shows that since the retaining noses 55 and 56 are released by the boss 61, the cards of the stack which are situated above said noses are retained by them when the tray descends so that the retained cards,'which bear on the retaining noses on the one hand and against the guide bars of the adjoining compartment on the other hand, are then separated from the remainder of the stack which moves downwards at the same time as the tray. Owing to the fact that the suspension lever 75 is rocked downwardly as shown in FIGURE 11, the stud 86 of the lever 81 is released. The lever 81, urged by its spring 74, is then drawn and engages its latch in the notch 85 of the deflector rod 39 which has been brought into the lower position as explaned hereinbefore. From this instant, the rod 39 is locked and cannot return to the upper position, under the action of the spring 43, even when the operator ceases to press on the key 45. The operator can then take hold of the cards which have remained accumulated on the tray 27 and withdraw them all at the same time whilst the machine continues to operate, to permit other cards to arrive in the compartment and place themselves on the retained cards. It is advantageous to point out that, with the retaining device shown in the figures, the cards which arrive in the compartment come to rest on the retained cards under the same conditions as when normal filling of the compartment is taking place. However, this device could be replaced by any other retaining device operating under similar conditions to those which have just been described. As soon as the accumulated cards on the tray are withdrawn by the operator, the preload of the return spring 80 is sufiicient to return the assembly constituted by the balancing spring 29, the rod 28 and the empty tray 27 into the upper position by means of the suspension lever 75. This assembly moves upwards slowly owing to the braking effect exerted by the damping device 87. Following the release of the key 45 by the operator, the emptying lever 44 has returned to the normal position under the action of the spring 54. The end of the arm 76 which moves upwards again under the action of the return spring thus encounters the latch 70 and repels it to allow itself to pass. After this, the latch 70 returns to the position of rest to retain the end of the arm 76 and hold the suspension lever 75 in the normal position.

During the return upward movement of the assembly, the runner 63 of the arm 62 encounters the ramp 95 of the arm 93. The arm 93 is then moved out of its unblocking position by the said runner, so that the abutment dog 92 is then displaced and prevents the operator from again actuating the emptying lever 44.

Shortly before the suspension lever 75 has completed its upward travel, the arm '76 of this lever encounters the stud 86 of the lever 81 and lifts it. The latch of the arm 82, drawn by the displacement of the lever 81, is then released from the notch 85 of the deflector rod 39. The rod 39, released, moves upwards again under the action of the spring 43, so that the boss 61 of the deflector plate moves upwards as far as the level of the retaining noses 55 and 56. It should be pointed out here that the re-ascent of the deflector plate is effected when the tray 27 has almost completed its return upward travel, as can be seen in FIGURE 10. In this way, the retained cards which were bearing on the one hand against the retaining noses and on the other hand against the guide bars of the neighboring compartment, are lifted by the tray 27. The damping device 87 which brakes the re-ascent of the tray permits the latter to come into contact with the retained cards without projecting them up into the air. In this way these cards, which are released when the boss 61 moves them away from the retaining noses, come to rest against the tray 27, thus permitting the compartment to re-fill in normal manner.

FIGURES 12 and 13 are diagrammatic views of a simplified embodiment which are intended to show the main features of the invention. These figures, compared with those which relate to the example of embodiment described previously, show that some elements forming part of the said embodiment have been replaced in FIG- URES l2 and 13 by elements which fulfil similar functions and which, for this reason, have been given the same reference numeral but preceded. by the FIGURE 1 or 2. Thus, the suspension lever 75 has been replaced by an intermediate element 175 which can be locked by a latch 170. Similarly the deflector rod 39 has been replaced by a cable 139 which, when the unloading lever 144 is actuated in the direction indicated by the arrow, draws the interception device so that the nose penetrates into the stack of cards to retain the upper portion of this stack. The locking of the said device in the interception position is effected by means of a catch 185 which is retained by a latch 182, only when the intermediate element 175, released by the latch which is actuated by means of the lever 144 and the cable 171, is drawn downwards under the action of the weight of the cards accumulated on the tray. It will be considered that in this case the action of the weight of the cards which are not retained by the interception device is greater than that of the return spring 180. When the tray has been discharged, the intermediate element moves upwards again under the action of the spring and successively repels the latch 170 and the lever 181 before being finally locked by this latch. The lever 181, driven by the intermediate element, rocks and the latch 182 releases the catch 185, which enables the interception nose to return to the position of rest under the action of the spring 143, and to release the retained cards which then come to rest on the tray which has moved upwards to its highest position.

It should be pointed out that the simplified embodiment represented diagrammatically in FIGURES l2 and 13 is intended only to show the main features of the invention. The example of embodiment which was described previously in a more detailed manner is in fact a much more rigid construction than that which is illustrated in a simplified manner in FIGURES 12 and 13. Consequently, it is much more reliable in operation. Furthermore it has the advantage, since the interception noses are fixed, of not damaging the edge of the cards at the places which are intended to pass below the chutes of feed devices. Finally, the control of the key 45 can be effected by the back of the operators hand which is ready to receive the cards at the instant when the tray moves downwards which, to a certain extent, is less tiring to the operator and enables him to withdraw the cards from the tray more quickly.

The characteristic feature of the invention will be brought out more clearly in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for dealing with record cards comprising a plurality of reception compartments, each compartment comprising a card-supporting tray fixed to the upper end of a vertical guide rod, said tray being normally suspended by a balancing spring adapted to maintain at a substantially constant level the upper surface of the stack constituted by the cards accumulated on the tray, a device permitting the unloading of the cards of a compartment without stopping the operation of the machine, the said device comprising a suspension lever normally locked in a position known as the locking position and adapted to suspend the said balancing spring, a card retaining device, normally inoperative, arranged at the upper portion of one wall of the compartment, a manual actuation device arranged below the compartment, and intermediate elements coupled on the one hand to the said manual actuation device and on the other hand to the suspension lever and to the retaining device so that when the manual actuation device is operated the suspension lever is unlocked to permit the tray to descend to a lower end position called the unloading position, and simultaneously the retaining device is put into an active position to retain the cards which arrive in the compartmentor which are situated above the said retaining device.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the said manual action device is a key-operated unloading lever and wherein the said intermediate elements comprise a first latch arranged to serve normally as a support for a nose of the said suspension lever and a cam plate fast with the said unloading lever, the said plate being adapted to repel the said latch at the actuation of the unloading lever so as to release the suspension lever to permit the card-supporting tray to descend to the unloading position.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein a return spring fast with a fixed point is fixed to the suspension lever, the preload of the said return spring being arranged so as to return the tray to the card reception position by means of the balancing spring immediately after a stack of cards has been removed from the said tray.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the said unloading lever comprises an extension, and wherein a blocking catch is coupled with mechanical means fast with the guide rod of the said tray, the said catch being arranged so as to occupy either a first position in which it engages the said extension, or a second or rest position, the said mechanical means being arranged so as to maintain the said catch in the first position and prevent the displacement of the unloading lever as long as the tray has not descended at least over a predetermined distance corresponding to the action of the weight of a predetermined approximate number of cards.

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein the retaining device comprises fixed retaining noses projecting beyond the wall of the compartment in the inward direction, and a deflector plate provided with a boss and prolonged downwardly by a deflector rod, the said deflector plate being guided so as to be able to occupy an upper retracted position and a lower retaining position, the said boss being formed so as to serve as a guide for one edge of the cards when the deflector plate is in the upper posi tion, thus preventing the cards which fall into the compartment from being retained by the retaining noses.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the said intermediate elements comprise also a roller fixed to the deflector rod and a spring arranged to maintain the said roller in contact with the cam of the unloading lever, the said cam being formed to act on the said lever so as to bring the deflector plate into its lower retaining position when the unloading lever is actuated.

7. A device according to claim 5, comprising also a blocking lever mounted to be pivotable about a fixed pivot and comprising a substantially vertical arm and 'a substantially horizontal arm, the said vertical arm being provided with a second latch adapted to be engaged in a notch of the deflector rod when the latter is in the lower position, the said horizontal arm being arranged on the path of the suspension lever so as to be actuated to release the second latch from the notch of the deflector rod during the very last part of the return upward movement of the tray.

8. A device according to claim 4, wherein the said mechanical means are constituted by an arm fast with the guide rod of the tray and provided with a runner arranged so as to displace the blocking catch at the return upward movement of the tray, to re-loc-k the unloading lever.

9. A device according to claim 7, wherein a singleacting damping device is coupled with the suspension lever to limit the speed of the return upward movement of the card-supporting tray and the balancing spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,006,641 10/1961 Souchot 271-8 8 3,083,013 3/1963 Morrison et a1 2146 X 3,149,836 9/1964 Ragozzino et a1 2146 X 3,381,830 5/1968 Vasse 27188 X GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT J. SPAR, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 271-88 

